Chapter 307: Injuries

Chapter 307: Chapter 307: Injuries

Outside Konohagakure.

Guy carried the injured and unconscious Shisui on his back, racing through the forest behind Kakashi. Hot on their heels was a large force of Root ninja led by Danzo.

Guy was completely baffled by the situation.

"How did things end up like this?!"

"I’m not really sure either."

Kakashi’s expression was grim. Although he still hadn’t figured out the full story behind everything that had happened, his sharp instincts told him that Team 11 had most likely fallen into someone’s scheme.

Guy then asked, "Where’s Kagami? Why haven’t we seen him?"

At those words, Kakashi’s expression darkened even further.

He already knew that the ’Hyuga Kagami’ who had been with Team 11 today was nothing more than a Shadow Clone. And judging from Shisui’s reaction when the Shadow Clone had been attacked, it seemed Shisui had known about it as well.

But none of that was the most important issue right now.

What mattered most was whether the Third Hokage had truly been assassinated.

So Kakashi immediately asked Guy, "Was Lord Hokage really attacked?"

Guy immediately shook his head. "No. When I went to make my report, I saw Lord Hokage with my own eyes."

Clearly, after the Hokage Guard caught up with Danzo’s group, they had only informed Danzo himself about the assassination attempt on the Third Hokage. As a result, even Guy, who had been traveling with them, knew nothing about it.

Kakashi glanced back at the pursuers relentlessly chasing them and frowned.

"At this rate, they’ll catch up to us sooner or later!"

Guy asked, "Then what do we do?"

After a brief moment of thought, Kakashi suggested, "I’ll stay behind and hold them off. You take Shisui to Rest Point No. 4 first. Once I shake them off, I’ll meet you there."

Because ANBU were forbidden from entering inns while carrying out secret missions, nearly every ANBU squad had several secret rest points of their own outside the village.

Guy hesitated. "But you’ll be alone—"

Before Guy could finish, Kakashi waved him off.

"It’s decided. Shisui’s injuries can’t wait any longer! I’ll see you at Rest Point No. 4!"

With that, Kakashi came to a stop.

Standing atop a tree branch, his hands rapidly formed seals.

In an instant, the forest erupted with the cries of a thousand birds!

Seeing Kakashi’s unwavering back, Guy hesitated no longer. Carrying the injured Shisui, he raced toward Rest Point No. 4 at full speed.

Before long, Guy arrived at Rest Point No. 4.

The so-called Rest Point No. 4 was actually nothing more than a cave that had undergone some simple modifications. Inside, Guy began bandaging Shisui’s wounds.

Shisui’s injuries could be divided into two parts.

One part had been caused by the explosive tags. Nearly his entire back had been blasted apart. Although the wounds looked horrifying, as long as they were treated promptly, they weren’t considered particularly serious for a ninja.

The other part had been caused by the kunai Danzo had driven into Shisui’s back.

The stab wound itself wasn’t much of a problem. The real issue was that Danzo had coated the kunai with poison, which was also the reason Shisui had fallen unconscious.

After administering the antidote he carried with him to Shisui, Guy could do nothing but pace anxiously around the cave as he waited for Kakashi.

Fortunately, the agonizing wait didn’t last long.

Kakashi soon arrived at Rest Point No. 4. Panting heavily, he said, "I used a Shadow Clone to lure them away!"

Guy then gave Kakashi a detailed account of Shisui’s injuries before emphasizing, "I’m not sure whether the standard antidote issued to us ANBU will actually work."

Kakashi hesitated for a moment before saying, "We’re going back to find Lord Hokage!"

Guy asked, "But what about Lord Danzo?"

Kakashi replied, "We’re ANBU directly under Lord Hokage’s command. Danzo has no authority to give us orders, much less punish us without authorization! The way he suddenly attacked Shisui this time... I think he’s after his—"

Kakashi abruptly stopped himself halfway through.

No matter what, Danzo was still one of the village’s Council Elders. Without any concrete evidence, Kakashi didn’t want to assume the worst about his intentions.

......

Back in the village.

Watching as Hiruko escaped through the air aboard his Chimera Summoning Beast, both the Third Hokage and Fugaku wore expressions ashen with fury.

Hiruko had acted with extraordinary decisiveness at the final moment. He severed both legs that had been entangled by the chains, planted his palms against the ground, and launched himself onto the Chimera Summoning Beast. The entire sequence had been executed without the slightest hesitation or wasted movement. Even someone as experienced as the Third Hokage had been unable to stop him from escaping on such short notice.

And Hiruko’s strength had already been displayed in full during his battle with Fugaku.

In a one-on-one fight, there was almost no reliable way to deal with him. To take Hiruko down, they would need at least a well-coordinated squad, traps prepared in advance, and sealing techniques to have any real chance of finishing him off in one decisive strike.

That meant what had just happened could be considered a golden opportunity to eliminate Hiruko.

If they had managed to kill him just now, not only would Konoha have eliminated a major threat, they might even have obtained the forbidden technique Hiruko used to steal other people’s Kekkei Genkai, as well as intelligence on the inner workings of Akatsuki.

But now that they had let this opportunity slip away, capturing Hiruko the next time would be extraordinarily difficult.

Koharu Utatane walked over to the Third Hokage and said, "Hiruzen, this Hiruko is far too dangerous. We should immediately notify the other major ninja villages and join forces to eliminate him!"

Homura Mitokado also approached with a scroll in his arms.

"Among the Kekkei Genkai he stole is Storm Release. That means the ones who attacked the Raikage and abducted the Storm Style ninja last time were Akatsuki, not Kamigami!"

Just hearing the names Akatsuki and Kamigami was enough to make the Third Hokage feel a headache coming on.

At that moment, the Hokage Guard finally returned to the village and reported everything that had happened— including how Danzo had suddenly attacked Shisui without warning.

The Third Hokage frowned and immediately ordered, "Call Danzo back. Also, dispatch another ANBU team to rendezvous with Team 11!"

......

Inside the secret laboratory.

Hyuga Kagami slowly lowered the hand covering his right eye and muttered, "So Hiruko really was nearby. But isn’t that guy a little too arrogant? He actually stood there and took the Third Hokage’s Adamantine Staff head-on without even trying to dodge!"

Although Kagami had left ahead of time, he had secretly monitored everything happening at the scene through his Crow Clone flying overhead.

As a result, he had witnessed the entire spectacle—from Hiruko’s flashy entrance, to him being overwhelmed almost instantly, and finally to his narrow brush with death.

Kagami murmured to himself, "Team 11 never showed up from beginning to end. Just what happened to them?"

Since Kagami had rushed back in such a hurry and hadn’t encountered Shisui along the way, he knew nothing about Team 11’s situation.

With so little information to work with, even he couldn’t figure out exactly what had happened to them.

"Forget it. I’ll have my main body hurry back first, then figure out the rest!"

With that, Kagami’s spirit emerged from the Fire Release clone and flew into the air...